On its age, its old homes and the National Register, California Township is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of California Township’s overall grade.
Indiana towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Indiana town has 7.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so California Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (22% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.8 points).
Founding year: our sources. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about California Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Another post office, Bass Lake, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Hamlets and corners on the map
AldineBass LakeBass Station
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
California Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of California Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
California Township is one of nine townships in Starke County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2020 census, its population was 2,165 (up from 2,011 at 2010) and it contained 1,440 housing units.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 2,011 to 2,165 (+8%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about California Township in 1915
Passages that mention California Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
A standard history of Starke County, Indiana1915 · page 112Read the page →
Read the text
that township. There had been built during Morgan Welsh's term three good schoolhouses in the township, this making ample room for all the pupils in the township. Hence the thought of consolidation in California Township went flickering in the sunshine of the past and all are now content with the schools, as they used to be called, "deestrict" schools, of California Township. It will be many years
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A standard history of Starke County, Indiana1915Read the page →
Read the text
In 1889 Doctor Fay retired from his traveling tours and settled permanently in California Township, Starke County, Indiana, where he began agricultural pursuits in earnest. On the farm which had for merly belonged to his mother-in-law he erected one of the Ijest residences in the township, a seven-room frame house that was built without the expenditure of a dollar, through trading with the lumbermen of the district and dealing in railroad ties and cordwood. In addition he built the first half mile of gravel road laid in the county, located on the town-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
California Township, 1892 to 1962
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of California Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1962Denham sheet · 1:24,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of California Township.
Famous people
Famous people close to California Township
Nobody well known was born in California Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
California Township is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in California Township?
16% of California Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.8 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1977.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
